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ximaginedreamsx · 4 years

Text

Unbound

A/N: Life ran a hard interference, but at last, I’ve finally made it back into my happy writing space...and I’ll do my best to stay here for as long as I can. Let’s pick up where we left off...and make it an extra long chapter to boot!

Chapter 7: The High School Experience

Monday rolled around a lot quicker than expected, or at least it did in Takuya's opinion. Today would be her first day attending Karakura High School...and she was nervous. A million thoughts buzzed through her mind at light speed as she stood at her dresser mirror, brushing her ebony locks.

What would the students be like? What would the instructors be like? What would the school as a whole be like?

With a slight sigh, she placed her brush back down on the dresser and opened a small drawer on the top left hand side. There sat the small rectangular black box that Orihime had given her. She slowly withdrew the box from the drawer and removed its top. The silver jewelry gleamed in the faint morning light that filtered through her window, and the sapphire eyes of the little tigers seemed to twinkle up at her as she gently ran a finger over each pendant. After pushing her back behind her ears, she carefully removed the hair pins and slid them into her hair just above her ears. She then freed the necklace from the box and fastened it around her neck. A small smile graced her lips as she examined herself with the addition of her new accessories.

"These really are beautiful..." she said quietly to herself.

A light knock on her room door drew her attention away from the mirror. "Come in."

The door slid open and Orihime entered the room. Her face lit up in a bright smile when she saw the necklace and hair pins.

"Yay, you're wearing them!" she exclaimed happily. "They look really pretty on you! And best of all...now we're both wearing hair pins! See?"

Takuya's smile grew as the auburn-haired girl pointed to the hair pins on either side of her head. "Thanks again, Orihime." she said as she reached up to gently touch her own.

"You're welcome again." Orihime replied, giggling slightly. "So, are you ready for your first day?"

Takuya's smile faltered a little. "I...I'm actually kind of nervous." she admitted. "This is all fairly new to me."

"Yeah, it's natural to be nervous at first when you're starting at a new school; it happens to everyone, for sure." Orihime said with a gentle smile. "But don't worry...that nervousness will pass before you know it. Karakura High is probably just like the schools you attended before coming here - only this time, you've already made friends before your first day's even started."

It was at that moment that something in Takuya's mind clicked...or perhaps, didn't click. She turned slightly and leaned back against her dresser, her brow furrowed in thought.

"...Actually...I-I don't remember...ever attending a school..." she said quietly.

Orihime's smile immediately dropped, and she looked confusedly at the ebony-haired girl. "...You don't remember?" she asked after a moment's pause.

Takuya slowly shook her head, and Orihime's confusion slowly changed into concern.

"Well...what do you remember?" she asked.

Takuya's brow furrowed a little more as she closed her eyes and brought her hands up to the sides of her face, her fingers pressing lightly against her temples. "...I remember moving here from...somewhere...several months ago. And I lived by myself for a long while..."

"Where did you live before you came here?"

"...I don't know." Takuya replied, the sudden sadness in her voice reflecting on her face as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't seem to remember anything about my life before coming here to Karakura. I-I'm not sure why...but I can't..."

For a long moment, the two girls just stood there in the silence of the room until Orihime spoke up again.

"Well, let's not think about too much, or we'll end up giving ourselves headaches." she said, trying to sound as lighthearted as she could. "It's your first day at a brand new school! We should make sure that you're completely ready to go."

Much to her relief, a smile slowly returned to Takuya's face as she pushed her self off of her dresser.

"Ok then." she said as she walked over to her new school bag that sat in a corner of her room. "We could look over my class schedule."

"Yeah, that would be great." Orihime chimed, walking over to Takuya as she set the bag on her bed. "Maybe we'll even have some classes together."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

An irritable expression decorated Grimmjow's features as his glare shifted from the two men now standing in front of his bed to his new gigai, and then back again. He was barely able to suppress the low growl rumbling in his chest at the sight of the goofy smile on the shopkeeper's face.

"Well, what do you think? Do you like it?" Urahara asked.

"It's fucking weird." was Grimmjow's only answer as his attention was drawn back to the gigai sitting against the wall by the door.

"Huh? Weird?" Urahara asked, a hint of laughter in his voice. "Now what would make you say that?"

"Well what the hell were you expecting me to fucking think, when the first thing I see when I wake up is another...another me sitting at the damn door?!" Grimmjow snapped venomously. "I almost lost control of my spiritual pressure, and this damn shop almost got ceroed to fucking oblivion!"

"Now, now, I apologize." Urahara said, snapping his fan shut. "I suppose I should properly introduce you to your gigai now. However, I should ask first...have you ever used a gigai before?"

"I'm a hollow." Grimmjow said flatly. "That shit's for shinigami. What the hell would I ever use one of those for, and why the hell should I start using one now?"

"Well, guarding Takuya requires you to be with her all day...and for part of the day, she will be in school."

Grimmjow narrowed his eyes at the man. "...Who the hell said I was gonna be inside the school with her?"

"It'll be a good experience for you, trust me on that." Urahara said, a hint of laughter in his voice yet again. "I've already had both of you registered."

Grimmjow glared murderously at the shopkeeper, this time not bothering to suppress the growl rumbling in his chest. Without missing a beat, Tessai reached into his pocket and pulled out a small blue orb and held it up for the Espada to see.

Said Espada rolled his eyes and released an exasperated sigh. "And what the hell is that supposed to be?" he asked.

"This is a gikongan, more commonly know as a "soul candy," designed especially for you." Urahara explained. "This is what you will use to exit your gigai. It's a pre-programmed artificial soul that, when ingested, separates you from your gigai, and then animates the gigai until you remove it. And to remove it, you will need this..."

Tessai reached into his pocket once again and pulled out a black glove with a skull symbol on it, also holding it up to be seen.

"This is a Gokon Tekkö, a glove that can force the soul candy out of the gigai whenever you're ready to inhabit it again."

Grimmjow looked at the two men as if they'd each grown another head. "You people are fucking insane." he muttered.

"Well, we don't have too much time to spare so…how about trying it out?" Urahara suggested, reacquiring his goofy smile as he motioned to the gigai. "All you do is hold it up to your body and you will automatically merge with it."

Releasing another exasperated sigh, Grimmjow stood up from his bed and stalked up to the gigai, grumbling all the while. He lifted it up to his body and merged with it almost instantly. With a slight frown, Grimmjow looked himself over, scrutinizing his "new appearance." The only obvious changes were the disappearance of the jawbone mask that had been on the right side of his face, and the "filling in" of the hollow hole in his abdomen. Aside from that he looked the same, save for the exchange of his white hakama for a button-down white shirt, gray slacks, and dark brown shoes.

"What the hell am I wearing?"

"That would be the school uniform." Tessai replied. "All students are required to wear it."

"Here, take this." Urahara said, handing the Espada a small metal box. "That has your glove and your soul candy stored in it. Keep it with you at all times. You never know when you may need it."

Grimmjow took the box from the man and forcibly stuffed it in his pocket.

"Oh yeah...just one more thing..." Urahara said, glancing back at Grimmjow over his shoulder before he and Tessai exited the room completely. "Since you are going to be among normal human beings whilst at this school, you're going to have to do a little...conforming...if you know what I mean..."

"Tch, no shit..." the Espada muttered sarcastically, moving to follow the two men as they exited his room.

He really wanted to destroy something now...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The walk to Karakura High School was alight with the nigh-overwhelming excitement that exuded from Orihime's bubbly voice. The auburn-haired girl had somehow become even more thrilled upon learning that Grimmjow would be attending school as well, much to the Espada's own surprise...and, subsequently, his annoyance. He walked a couple steps behind the girls, a borderline irritated scowl etched into his expression.

"It's absolutely AWESOME that we all get to be in the same class together!" Orihime chirped happily. "You'll definitely love our teachers. There's Ochi-sensei, who's really nice but also a little outrageous sometimes. And then there's Kagine-sensei; he's kinda strict, but deep down on the inside he's really just a big softy. Oh, and I'll also have to introduce you to my best friend, Tatsuki. She's just the coolest..."

"Hey! Over here, guys!" Ichigo's voice rang out through the air, drawing the three's attention over to the orange-haired boy who was presently standing at the school's entrance with the rest of the group.

"Oh, good morning everyone!" Orihime greeted cheerfully as she jogged over to join them.

Takuya, however, paused momentarily to look up at the building. There were students everywhere she looked. Most moved about the campus grounds, heading this way and that, while some were gathered in various different places throughout, carrying on conversations with one another. The nervousness pit in her stomach grew slightly, and she clutched the strap of her school bag a little tighter.

...Ok, Takuya, you can –

"What's wrong with you?" Grimmjow's voice startled her slightly as it pulled her out of her thoughts, suddenly making her aware that he'd stopped alongside her.

"...I'm just a little nervous is all." she replied quietly. "This is going to be an entirely new experience for me, because I've never...I-I've never actually been to a school before."

Grimmjow looked at the girl then, confusion replacing the irritation in his expression. "The hell do you mean you've "never been" to a school before? I thought all humans went through this shit."

Takuya shook her head slightly. "I've never gone...or at least, I don't remember ever going..."

The Espada's confusion grew even more then; he opened his mouth to question the girl further but was cut off when Ichigo suddenly called out to them again.

"Takuya, Grimmjow! Let's get going or we're gonna be late!"

"Ok, c-coming!" Takuya responded; she took a deep breath before finally moving to catch up to Ichigo and the others.

Grimmjow followed behind her, his confusion growing steadily as his eyes remained trained on her. What the hell is with this girl's weird-ass life...?

"Welcome to Karakura High!" Ichigo declared, drawing the Espada out of his thoughts as the boy made a sweeping motion with his right hand as if to showcase the school. "Not too much to say about it, except that it's a school, and you learn here."

Takuya giggled at this, while Grimmjow just rolled his eyes and proceeded to mentally curse the shopkeeper for making him come here. Ichigo noticed the Espada's peeved expression and willed himself not to laugh.

"Wow, Grimmjow, you sure look ready for the day." he remarked, some of the contained laughter escaping into his voice.

Grimmjow leveled the orange-haired boy with a bored glare. "Of course, shinigami." he replied sarcastically. "Can't you tell? I can barely contain my excitement."

"Hmph...well for your sake, you had better." Rukia said snidely.

"Tch, you're never without anything totally smart-assed to say, are you...midget bitch?" Grimmjow shot back nonchalantly.

At that, Rukia whirled around, halting the group's trek towards the building. "What was that?!" she shrieked.

Grimmjow merely laughed at the female shinigami's reaction, while Ichigo shot glares at both of them.

"We don't have time for this! Let's just hurry and get to class!" he barked as he spun Rukia back around and pushed her forward as everyone started walking again. "And Rukia, will you stop trying to provoke him?!"

Rukia shot the boy an utterly appalled glare. "Oh so you're defending him now?!"

"I'm just saying that you've been the one picking all the fights lately. You could probably do without always trying to say stuff to get him riled up...especially now that we're around all these people."

Clearly offended, Rukia yanked herself out of Ichigo's grasp and stormed ahead of the group, grumbling all the way into the building. Ichigo shook his head at this, he and others reaching the building only a few seconds later.

"Wow, you must've really set Rukia off this time." Renji's voice drew everyone's attention to him as he fell into step with the group as they entered the building.

"Yeah well, she'll get over it." Ichigo muttered before shifting his gaze over to the red-haired shinigami. "So, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Urahara's orders." Renji replied. "He said I could better help in keeping in eye on Orihime this way."

"Did he now? You sure he wasn't just trying to get you out of the shop?" Ichigo teased.

"Lay off." Renji grumbled. "It's actually a good idea, despite whatever the nature of his true intentions was...especially given your less-than-average ability to sense spiritual pressures."

"Tch...shut the hell up." Ichigo snapped. "Like I'd need your help..."

"Here we are~!" Orihime sang as the group stopped in front of their designated classroom.

Before they could set a single foot in the door, their teacher stepped out. Misato Ochi’s eyes sifted purposefully through the group, immediately picking out Takuya and Grimmjow. A bright smile lit up her face as she moved to stand directly in front of them.

“The two of you must be my new students, how wonderful!” she proclaimed cheerfully. “I’m Misato Ochi, and I have the lovely honor of being your teacher. Now if you would kindly wait right here for just a minute, I’ll go in and get the other students settled and then have you come in and introduce yourselves, ok?”

With that, she promptly turned and hurried the rest of the group into the classroom, leaving Takuya and Grimmjow standing silently in the hallway.

As they awaited the impending call for introductions, Takuya attempted to calm herself down. Her grip on the strap of her school bag had become almost vice-like, but she could still feel her palms beginning to sweat as the nervous pit in her stomach grew even more.

A chanced glance at Grimmjow, however, had her temporarily ignoring her own state of being.

Next to her the Espada visibly seethed, the very notion of having to spend even a single moment trapped within the human-infested school building causing the blood to boil in his veins. A poorly contained growl rippled through his chest as his hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. Ugh, damn that fucking stupid ass shopkeeper to the bottom of the deepest hole in darkest corner of ten hells...!

“Grimmjow...please calm down.”

The gears of Grimmjow’s mounting rage ground to a halt at the sound of Takuya’s quiet voice, his cerulean eyes immediately shifting to land pointedly upon the ebony-haired girl. Her own gaze never lifted to meet his, however; instead, she moved a small hand to loosely grasp the wrist of his left arm before speaking again.

“This is going to be a new experience for both of us...new, and challenging. But, I-I believe that if we try hard enough...and if we’re patient enough...we can get through it. So please...”

The Espada stared at the side of the girl’s face for a moment before his gaze flicked down to where her hand held on to his wrist. Even as she spoke, he felt that hand of hers was trembling slightly out of her own nervousness. Grunting slightly, he pulled his wrist free of her loose grasp and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Whatever.” he mumbled, shifting his gaze to the wall directly across the hallway.

“The two of you can step inside now.” Ochi-sensei called from inside the classroom.

Taking a deep breath, Takuya turned to walk into the classroom with Grimmjow right behind her. “Here we go...” she whispered.

The two entered the room and stopped next to the teacher’s desk, drawing a wave of little gasps from their soon-to-be classmates; quieted comments immediately began to surface in the air.

“Class, these are our two lovely new students!” Ochi-sensei declared before turning to look at the two. “Alright, go ahead and introduce yourselves.”

“Hello, I’m Takuya Hokkaido.” Takuya said, bowing slightly.

“Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez.” Grimmjow stated flatly.

“Wonderful!” Ochi-sensei chimed. “Ok, there are two seats over there by the window...right behind Mr. Kurosaki. You may take those.”

Not wasting any time, Takuya and Grimmjow moved to take their seats. As they did so, the little quiet comments began surfacing again, this time not escaping either of their ears.

“- lovely, indeed. Man I could get lost those gorgeous eyes of hers...”

“Wow, he’s so totally dreamy! I wonder if he’s single...”

“She’s a total hottie. I call dibs on her number.”

“Blue is my new favorite color.” (Girly giggles)

Takuya took the seat directly behind Ichigo, and Grimmjow sat behind her. Ichigo turned around to face them as they situated themselves.

“You did a good job.” he whispered; he then peered over Takuya’s shoulder. “Both of you...surprisingly...”

Grimmjow’s bored glare lingered on the boy for a second or so before shifting to look out the window. “Don’t push your luck, Kurosaki.” he grumbled.

Ichigo smirked, shaking his head slightly as he turned to face forward in his seat once more.

“Alright, let’s begin class, shall we?” Ochi-sensei said, flipping open a book on her desk. “We’ll start with the reading assignment you had over the weekend...”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Takuya breathed an inaudible sigh of relief as she and the others sat around on the school’s roof eating their lunch. She stood leaning against the bars of the tall steel barrier that enclosed the entire rooftop, gazing down at the other students moving here and there throughout the courtyard as she nibbled on a sandwich. The first half of her school day had gone by without a hitch, which served to dispel the greater part of the nervousness she’d felt since the start of the day. A small smile curved her lips as a feeling of accomplishment washed over her.

This isn’t so bad after all. I think I could get used to this school-going thing...

“Takuya!” the ebony-haired girl turned toward Orihime’s voice, the auburn-haired girl approaching her alongside a girl with short raven-colored hair. “I’d like to introduce you to my best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa.”

Said girl, Tatsuki, stepped forward and extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Takuya.” she greeted with a smile.

Takuya smiled in return, reaching out and shaking Tatsuki’s extended hand. “It’s nice to meet you as well.” she replied.

“ICHIGOOOO!” Everyone looked around just in time to see the owner of the overly-excited voice barging through the roof entrance and making a beeline straight for said orange-haired boy.

“Keigo...” Ichigo half-growled as his hyperactive friend skidded to a stop in front of him.

“Ichigo, where is she?! Everyone told me they saw her walking with you guys, WHERE IS SHE?!” Keigo practically shrieked, grabbing Ichigo by the collar of his shirt.

“Get the hell off me!” Ichigo snapped, shoving the boy away from him. “And who the hell are you even talking about?!”

“Oh c’mon, Ichigo, you know exactly who I’m talking about! I mean the new girl from -”

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Keigo immediately bit off the remainder of his sentence as he and Ichigo looked up to see Mizuiro standing in front of Takuya and taking one of her hands into his own. “My name is Mizuiro Kojima. It’s an honor to finally meet such a lovely girl in person.”

Orihime giggled, while Tatsuki just rolled her eyes. Takuya blinked at the boy. “Oh, u-um...nice to meet you as well...?” she managed, unsure of what else to say.

No sooner had the words left her lips than Keigo popped up in front of her, his oversized grin causing her to shrink back slightly.

“Wow, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” he chirped. “Those eyes, that hair, everything so perfectly proportioned! Oh it’s even better close up - ARGH!”

Two fists roughly collided with either side of Keigo’s face, abrubtly cutting the boy off and startling Takuya.

“CAN IT, YA PERVERT!” Ichigo and Tatsuki yelled in unison as Keigo slumped to the ground, groaning.

Mizuiro looked down at Keigo. “Wow...you certainly are punishment prone, Mr. Asano.” he remarked.

“You people...are heartless...” Keigo forced out as he lay on the ground, clutching his face.

“Well, well, well...now what do we have here?”

Once more, everyone’s attention was drawn to the roof entrance, where three more boys now stood. Ichigo rolled his eyes and grumbled as he ran a frustrated hand over his face.

“Tch, great...not these assholes again...” he muttered.

“Who are they?” Renji asked, finally looking up from his lunch.

“A trio of purebred scumbags.” Ichigo answered scathingly. “The one in the middle is Kazuki, “the ring leader;” to his left is Hitoshi, and to his right is Ryo. They’re nothing but womanizing pigs...”

As if on cue, the trio sauntered past the rest of the group and stopped directly in front of Takuya.

“Well hello there.” Kazuki spoke, leering at the ebony-haired girl as his eyes overtly traveled the length of her body. “When I heard the rumors about the beautiful new girl in class 1-3, I just had to see it for myself. And now that I see you...wow...I am quite literally blown away.”

Growling in disgust, Tatsuki stormed forward, intent on throttling the boy; her advance was stopped, however, when she was immobilized and held back by Hitoshi and Ryo. “Kazuki!!! You has better get away from her you filthy lowlife scum!!!” she yelled, struggling to get out of his flunkies’ grasps.

Kazuki glanced back at Tatsuki, smirking snobbishly at the angry girl before turning back to Takuya, who had taken a couple cautious steps back. In one swift movement, he quickly closed the short distance between them, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to him, preventing her from moving away again.

“A girl like you shouldn’t be reduced to hanging around such garbage.” he crooned, his face mere inches away from hers. “Why don’t you come away with me to somewhere...a little less crowded?”

“No thank you.” Takuya said firmly, attempting to pry herself away from the boy. “Now let me go, please.”

“Oh come now, don’t be like that.” Kazuki whined almost mockingly, his grip tightening slightly; he then reached up and gently stroked her face. “You know you want to...”

“Alright, that’s it! Get the hell away from her, asshole!” Ichigo blurted out. “She obviously doesn’t wanna be anywhere near your creepy ass!”

Kazuki leveled an arrogant glare at the orange-haired boy. “Why don’t you shut the hell up, noisy bastard.” he sneered. “As if you could possibly even begin to imagine what she wants! Anyone can see that she’s almost completely enthralled with my boyish charm and - UMPH!”

A large hand suddenly clamped over Kazuki’s mouth, effectively silencing him. He, and everyone else, looked up to see none other than Grimmjow standing there, his bored scowl unflinchingly cemented into his expression. The instant he noticed Kazuki loosening his grip on Takuya he acted once again, ripping the boy away from the ebony-haired girl and forcefully slamming him into the roof’s barrier. The boy hollered in pain as he collided with the steel bars face-first, and almost immediately began to feel warm blood flowing out from a newly acquired wound created by the harsh contact. Hitoshi’s and Ryo’s jaws dropped, their own hold on the squirming Tatsuki loosening in their shock; taking the opportunity, Tatsuki yanked herself free, spun around, and bodily shoved both boys backwards to the ground.

“Ugh...what...w-what the hell is your deal, man...?” Kazuki whimpered as he tried in vain to free himself from Grimmjow’s vice grip. “And...where the hell...d-did you even come from?”

“Look here, idiot...,” Grimmjow began to speak, not yet bothering to his way. “I don’t know who you are, or who you think you are, but let’s make one thing abundantly clear. This girl is not to be toyed with, and shitheads like you who get bold enough to try might just find themselves waking up in hell.”

Kazuki’s eyes widened. “W-what do you mean?”

It was then that Grimmjow turned to look at the boy, who almost immediately began trembling like a dry leaf in the wind. His bored scowl had remained intact, but behind the glint of his cerulean eyes lurked an unfathomable murderous intent that caused the blood to freeze in his veins.

“Fuck off...or die.” the Espada replied flatly. “That clear enough for ya?”

Kazuki did his best to nod. “Yeah...crystal...” he squeaked.

At that, Grimmjow released his hold on the boy, letting him fall to the ground. Not a second after his feet made contact with the cement, Kazuki hurriedly clambered away, Hitoshi and Ryo following close behind. After watching the trio disappear from the roof, everyone turned their attention back to the Espada, shocked to absolute silence. Grimmjow’s brow furrowed when he felt all their gazes pinned on him.

“The hell’re you idiots staring at?” he grumbled.

“That was AWESOME!!!” Keigo suddenly cheered. “I’ve never seen those guys run away so fast in my life!!! An now, my beautiful Takuya can breath easy again-OWW!!!”

A fist has once again made contact with the side of his face. Ichigo glared at the boy as he slumped to the ground once more, groaning. Mizuiro tutted as he looked down at him.

“You should really learn when to put a lid on it, Mr. Asano.” he said.

“...Ugh, the pain...” Keigo moaned.

Ignoring the two’s exchange, Ichigo looked over at Grimmjow again. His actions had thrown him for a complete loop, so much so that he’d momentarily forgotten that the Espada had actually agreed to be Takuya’s bodyguard, much to their great surprise. With an exasperated sigh, he folded his arms across his chest and turned his attention back to Keigo, who was still writhing on the ground.

Well, I guess hollows aren’t the only things she’ll need protection from...

A minute later, the bell sounded, marking the end of the lunch break.

“Alright, guys, let’s get the rest of this day over with.” Ichigo said as he and the rest of the group packed up the remnants of their lunches and began heading toward the roof’s entrance. As they filed into the buidling, Takuya, who’d been silent since the “incident” with Kazuki, finally spoke up, but only loud enough for one person to hear her.

“Grimmjow...”

The Espada looked over his shoulder at the girl.

“Thank you...”

Mild surprise flashed over Grimmjow’s scowling expression; after a second or so, he turned to face forward again.

“Don’t mention it.” he finally said, the phrase feeling incredibly foreign on his tongue.

Takuya smiled at his retreating form, and for the first time that day, she felt her nervousness completely ebb away.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Urahara looked up as Orhime, Takuya, and Grimmjow entered the dining area.

“Ah, welcome back.” he greeted them. “So, the first day of school has been completed successfully, I presume?”

“Yes it has.” Takuya replied with a smile.

“Excellent.” Urahara said before turning his attention to Grimmjow. “So...how was it?”

Grimmjow glared at the man for a moment or two. “I spent the whole damn day surrounded by humans, nobody died, and I’m still sane. Joy.”

“That’s excellent! Hehe, what’d I tell ya? I knew it’d be a good experience for ya. It’s gonna really help build that tolerance level of yours.”

The Espada grumbled as he disappeared down the hallway. With a slight smile, Urahara redirected his gaze toward Takuya and Orihime.

“So, did everything go on without incident today?” he asked.

Both girls nodded.

“Oh...well, everything except for this one situation we had during lunch...” Takuya said, tapping her chin in thought. “This perverted guy attempted to force himself on me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but Grimmjow saved her.” Orhime chimed in cheerily. “He got the boy away from her and basically told him not to come bothering her again. It was really nice of him.”

“Yes, that was very nice indeed.” Urahara echoed with a honest grin. “Well, I’m glad that you enjoyed your first day, Takuya.”

“So am I.” Takuya agreed with a smile of her own as she and Orihime disappeared down the hallway as well.

Urahara released a contented sigh, taking a sip of the tea in front of him. Everything seems to be going smoothly thus far. I guess the real question now is...how long will it last...?

“Kisuke.”

A smile almost instinctively stretched across his face at the sound that all-too-familiar voice. He then turned to see a black cat trotting into the dining area.

“Yoruichi! Great to see you!” he greeted as the cat jumped lithely onto the table and sat down directly in front of him. “How long have you been back?”

“Long enough to know that there has been a hollow of incredibly destructive power among you for close to four whole days now and none of you seem too worried about it.”

Urahara chuckled, bringing a hand up to adjust his hat. “Heh, always the observant one; I’d have been quite surprised if you didn’t notice.”

“You can save the flattering compliments.” Yoruichi remarked flatly. “You’ve got some serious explaining to do, starting now.”

“Well, to be completely honest, there isn’t a whole lot to explain.” Urahara said. “Takuya - a young lady currently residing here that you’ve not had the pleasure of meeting yet - stumbled upon Mr. Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez three days ago as she was returning from the market. At the time she’d found him, he was injured substantially after being attacked by Aizen. He’s now repaying his debt to Takuya for saving his life.”

The cat shook its head in utter disbelief. “Kisuke, do you even realize what it is that you’re doing?! You’re not only willingly harboring a vasto lorde, but you’re allowing him to roam freely among humans! Do you realize how insanely dangerous that is, and the indescribable amount of trouble you could get into if Soul Society gets wind of it?! Oh, and let’s not forget the ever-looming threat of Hueco Mundo. Did you even consider what you’ll do if...no, when Aizen decides to come looking for his lost soldier?!”

The shopkeeper took a slow sip of his tea, taking that time to mull over his answer. “Yes, I’ve taken it all into thorough consideration. I’m well aware of everything that could possibly happen...rather, everything that will happen...if Grimmjow is discovered. Aizen, we suspect, will eventually send his forces here to do a physical search once he realizes that he can’t track Grimmjow’s spiritual pressure. And once that happens, Soul Society will automatically become involved. All of us - not just Grimmjow - will be in imminent danger of either being wiped out by Aizen’s forces, or being automatically sentenced to execution by Head Captain for what’ll undoubtedly be seen as highly treasonous acts against the living world AND Soul Society...or, in Grimmjow’s case, merely being a hollow. Either way, when this is all over, we all may very well be dead.”

He then looked up to meet the cat’s golden-eyed gaze.

“But...we’re prepared for that. We’re more than ready...more than willing...to face that inescapable truth when and if it should come to that. Well...actually Rukia’s not too thrilled about it, and for good reason...but the rest of us are. I mean, think about it, Yoruichi. This Espada is a wealth of information! We now have the capability to thwart any of Aizen’s plans before they get underway. Opportunities like this don’t just occur for no reason at all.”

Yoruichi’s whiskers twitched in slight frustration. “Kisuke, we’re not talking about some random low rank. This guy’s one of Aizen’s strongest soldiers -”

“Did I mention that Grimmjow isn’t loyal to Aizen?” Urahara cut in. “Or the fact that Aizen’s attack on him was provoked by the discovery of his plot to defy his direct orders?”

The cat’s eyes widened slightly. “...That alone doesn’t prove disloyalty...”

“He’s also made it absolutely clear that he has zero respect for Aizen’s leadership, and that he would readily kill himself before willingly carrying out any of his orders, AND that he plans to kill all three ex-captains himself once he gains the proper strength...”

Yoruichi’s eyes widened even more as she was rendered momentarily speechless. Her golden eyes searched his gray ones for any sort of doubt or uncertainty, but she only succeeded finding raw determination.

“Are you certain of this?” she finally asked. “Are you absolutely sure this isn’t just a ruse to get you to even partially drop your guard?”

“I’m positive.” Urahara replied. “He’s only been here for a couple days, but he’s already shown that he isn’t one for smoke screens.”

“...And there’s absolutely no swaying you, is there?”

“I’m afraid not.”

With a small sigh, the cat leapt off the table. “Well, I suppose there’s no helping it...I do hate when you get like this.” she muttered. “However, if this is the path you are choosing to take, then you have my full support.”

“Thank you, Yoruichi.” Urahara said, smiling almost triumphantly.

Yoruichi smiled slightly in return before rolling her eyes at the man and heading toward the shop’s exit.

#bleach #unbound fanfic #grimmjow jaegerjaquez #grimmjow x oc #chapter 7

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